this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betts in america with today's top stories. the refugee crisis seeing them trapped in greece. the poms have just closed in maine as five states hold caucuses and primaries today. ted cruz is the projected winner of kansas. >> they want to start a third party and they want to put a

couple of clowns in there that will take away enough votes that we won't beat hillary clinton a new wave of cuban immigrants are about to enter the u.s. and many of them will not be headed to miami we begin this saturday night with a new humanitarian crisis in europe. macedonia is choking the flow of migrants allowing only a few to pass through. so that has left more than 10,000 people trapped on the greek side of the border. they are facing a hash winter and their hopes for a better life in western europe have been dashed for now. >> around 11,000 people who are here at this site, you have a thousand or probably more who

are on their way to come here so you see this sea of people majority of them are women and children, and not many are being allowed to pass. so if things continue like this, we think we are going to end up seeing a huge problem at our hands here we have more from al jazeera's correspondent along the macedonia-greek border. >> reporter: the state of emergency has been declared for the two bordering municipalities. this means that it paves the way for emergency funds to be released, 200,000 in the immediate future, we understand, and more to follow. that will allow municipalities to get involved in the organization of this camp. they can send tents and more doctors. there are shortages of everything here. so far it has only been local ngos and international aid organizations who were involved here on the ground. in the long-term, the mayor of these bordering areas would like to see all of these people

evacuated because the makeshift camps are now on private land owned by farmers and they want also compensation because they haven't been able to work their land since this happened and there is no end in sight. what will happen is something the refugees are waiting to know about the e.u. turkey summit is looming on monday, march 7. they are hoping that there will be some sort of resolution to their plight. the e.u. is leaning towards relocating people to reception centers and relocating them to the various european countries. it has to be accepted that it will be very difficult for those who have been stranded here now for two weeks to have them evacuate this area. they've been waiting hoping to get across as quick as possible. simply because of the conditions are dire and they're running out of cash. many will say how can we continue if we stay in these

difficult conditions. if there -- it hb will be a difficult action policies closed in slovakia. and the ruling party is playing on fears of muslims >> reporter: this woman made the daunting decision to travel from syria to slovakia >> translation: i tried to find a job in turkey. i hoped i could work in some hospital. i didn't expect that one day i would be a refugee in europe. the company where i applied for the job gave me a final negative answer, so i decided to meet the group of smugglers to whom i gave the money. after that it was over. there was no way back. >> reporter: with other refugees she arrived illegally on the greek island lesbos. that wasn't the end of the journey. it was then on to macedonia,

serbia and hungary. as she crossed into slovakia she was arrested. she has spent four months in detention and doesn't plan to stay in slovakia long. >> translation: their decision are racist. of the police officers told me owe i should go back to where i came froo and said i was a terrorist. >> reporter: her treatment has a lot to do with the parliamentary elections. >> every man was to gain the voces and win the election-- votes and win the election. after the elections the hysteria will calm down a little bit and people and politicians will actually turn the page. >> reporter: the prime minister has made the migrant crisis a political issue. he said he wanted to monitor every muslim in the country. his slogan is, "we will protect slovakia with a goal from

performing a muslim community from forming". the city is home to so many already. >> so many are married to slovak women. we speak the language. it was for us a little bit shock >> reporter: opinion polls suggest the ruling party is unlikely to get enough votes for majority in parliament, which means it may have to form a coalition. perhaps that's a sign that the tough rhetoric hasn't gone down well with voters later this hour we will have an exclusive report from athens. we are going undercover to expose a thriving business that are selling fake passports to desperate migrants back here in the state the super saturday and the polls are starting to close. presidential hopefuls hillary clinton and donald trump are looking to solidify their positions as front runners.

both are vying tore votes here, and maine and country tuck eep are holding g.o.p. only caucuss. it makes for a total of 109 delegates on the democratic side and 155 for the g.o.p. tomorrow democrats vote in main and the republicans will vote in puerto rico. a big win for ted cruz in kansas tonight with 83%. he has scored of the 50% of the vote there. 40 delegates up for grabs in kansas. maine is next where ted cruz is also at this point ahead with 42% of the vote. it is still early, though. only 9% of the precincts coming into us. 23 delegates up for grabs there. we're expecting to hear more states later on tonight. this could be a big game changer for ted cruz. our correspondent has been watching and she joins us.

a big night so far for ted cruz. >> very much. donald trump continued to taunt his opponents, little marco and lying ted. he is calling on elites to give up on their attempts to support them. hillary clinton and bernie sanders campaigned hard today. >> reporter: in kansas this morning donald trump once again defying his critics >> they made a tremendous mistake with mitt romney. he was a stiff guy. he was a loser. >> reporter: he was continuing to attack his rivals, especially marco rubio >> he has got the worst voting record almost in the history of united states senate. who the hell wants to vote for a guy like that?

>> reporter: later this afternoon on marco rubio's home turf, he hit him again >> in the times today and the newspapers they're giving up about donald trump. if we win florida, blooech me, it's over-- believe me, it's over >> being a conservative ask not about how long you're willing to scream how angry you're going to be and how many names you call people >> reporter: meanwhile, marco rubio ask said to be courting jeb bush though it is unclear how much endorsement it will help. john kasich also campaigning in michigan today. >> i really can't think of anything i've got to tell you other than how honored i am that you would come here this morning. >> let me say, god bless kansas. [ cheers ] >> reporter: but it was ted cruz who won the first state saturday as he was declared the winner of the kansas caucus >> we have roughly 50% of the votes in the state of kansas.

>> reporter: on the democratic side, hillary clinton meeting with clergy members in michigan, continuing to align herself with president obama. >> i want to build on the progress president obama has made. i am absolutely in his corner. i don't think he gets the credit he deserves for saving our economy when he was handed the worst financial crisis since the great depression >> reporter: for miss part, bernie sanders in ohio sticking with his message that he is the candidate who will create jobs >> i was right. hillary clinton supported many things, including the colombian trade agreements, all of them disastrous, and the result is the loss of jobs

the cruz win puts a new focus on the republicans establishment's efforts to take this contest to an open convention thank you for that. joining us now from l.a. is al jazeera's chief political correspondent michael shaw. let's start with this big win for cruz in kansas. first off, is it a big win? >> yes. any win is a big win when you're ted cruz, obviously. i would say it is, and also because of how decisive you are. any time when you're not losing to donald trump, it's a big win. if you look at all of the delegates up for grabs today, they totald exactly as texas. in total it's a lot. i think ted cruz recognises that and gives him another win, which means marco rubio isn't and it means donald trump isn't with donald trump there do you think he has been hurt at all by what has happened this week, this uprising against him from the g.o.p. establishment?

>> it is a good question. hard to say. i think the greatest indicator of his being hurt is a small poll that was released today in the state of michigan. it was taken yepped and today-- yesterday and today. it shows john kasich ahead by 2 percentage points over donald trump in michigan. he has a margin of error by five. in terms of answering your question, it does say that, wait a second, donald trump in a state that he was doing well this is seeing a little ground to john kasich. that's where i look to see if he has been hurt. if he loses everything today, it's not the end of the world for him. he is banking on big days ahead, but it could change the narrative just a little bit, especially if he doesn't do well tonight. these are not states that would go for someone who is not as religious as donald trump is considering that and looking at the playing field today, who has the most to lose this

weekend? >> every time marco rubio doesn't do well, and by doing well at this point you have to start winning statements in the small contests, it is really bad for marco rubio. if he is trying to get the endorsements and the donor class to pack minimum as the only alternative, it is really bad for marco rubio. having ted cruzthe alternative to donald trump hurts marco rubio a bit. that seems to be what's happening topped. again, it's very early. we're not seeing very much. the last time i looked it was a teeter to thetter do you think that bernie sanders here could possibly gain some ground against hillary clinton? >> if he gains ground tonight, which is yilt possible, it bo be a different game. he knows michigan are on tuesday and florida and ohio are ahead. these are that that tend to be

better for bernie sanders. that seems to be the audience that he does best in when it is clinton versus sanders. i think that race is not over yet. bps is doing incrementally well is what-- bernie sanders - and that's what they need. they don't want to lose or fall behind. they keep winning these little states. that's how you change the narrative a little bit, bum it is a big hill. yes as we look tonight at all these states and votes and caucuses, what is it that you're going to be watching for tonight? >> i will look at turn out. there's operation. that's something that hurts donald trump. in a state like iowa and new hampshire, you go in and you're not a republican and you want to register as one and vote that day, you can. if you look at the states, all four today have some measure of closed ballot. you have to have been a registered republican going in. those are the states where

donald trump doesn't do as well and you're seeing it play out already with ted cruz winning in kansas and a lot of people thinking that ted cruz is going to do well informant. that's what i'm looking at to see if that kind of die-- do well tonight. that's what i'm looking at to see if that happens thank you. we will see you later this hour. polls in louisiana will close in less than two hours. the shaky oil industry is critical in that state and it's of voters' minds >> reporter: no issue may be more pressing than the economy. the workforce is growing but it is in a recession >> we are part of the oil patch and with the drop in oil prices, that means that's putting a hurt on the state's economy and people are losing jobs and the state is losing revenue. every $1 drop in the oil is a loss of 12 million dollars in revenue for the state

>> reporter: as gas prices steadily drop, offshore oil rig would workers are losing jobs. the state's job count has been declining for months with the unemployment rate at 5.8%. almost a full point higher than the national average. law makers are in the middle of a special session closing a 900 million short bill by june. >> they seem to be at a stale mate. they are not sure whether they want to raise taxes or whether they want to cut. it's more about pointing fingers at each other right now rather than solving the problem. >> reporter: gof nor john bell edwards in a televised address last night >> this is a crisis the likes of which our state has never seen >> reporter: he warned there could be adrastic cuts to health care and higher education, to areas not protected by the state

legislation. >> some campuses will be forced to declare financial bankruptcy which will include massive layoffs and the cancellation of classes >> reporter: for many voters here, issues like immigration may be less important as picking a president who understand the economy and the state's financial crisis as we look ahead here, one of the most important states in every presidential election is ohio. it is one of those swing states where voters don't typically phenomenon party lines. our correspondent explains what is at stake on march 15. >> reporter: every serious candidate has already been here and will come again. >> i always loved ohio >> reporter: and again. >> thank you. >> it is truly a microcosm of the country. you have every part of the country represented here. >> reporter: the state's mix of rural and you are pan, wealthy and poor, wlak and white, is

known for picking presidentials >> now is one of a dozen battleground states for the presidency. there are only 12 out of 50 where there is a real contest going on. that has been ohio for years and year. demographically it mirrors the country >> reporter: that mirror has long cast a strikingly accurate reflection of what happens in the nation when all the votes are cast. it has become the gateway to the white house. since 1964 every single president, including johnson, nixon and the others have all had to win mere first. on average, the-- here first. on average they vote within 1.3 percentage votes of the national tally. this year marks a turning point in ohio and the nation. for the first time those born after 1980 will share the electorate and they bring their

own issues >> we've grown-up in a time where there has been economic hardship >> reporter: that goes for young democrats >> i can afford a young republican president to be in the office. i am white, maem, straight and middle-class, but for a lot of people that are part of marginalised communities, they cannot afford for years a republican >> the reason that i believe it should be bernie sanders is because of the consistent 40 years of consistent progressive policies >> people like me are also very invested in making sure that we protect gay rights, protect the ability to marry someone you love. >> reporter: it goes for young republicans. >> i'm for donald trump because i want to make america great again. you know that? and build the wall. >> he is the man and he will make america great again. >> he is the man. >> reporter: all of the candidates will campaign here aggressively pause they know that if their-- because they know if their dream for the white house becomes a reality, e

they have to win here tonight's there's a certainly a big night on the roopd. five states up for grabs. kentucky where trump is doing well. this is still early. so far locking in nearly 40% of the vote. kansas has been called for senator ted cruz, nearly half of the vote there going to him. 40 delegates at stake there in kansas. maine still early for them as well. the poms just closed a short time ago. cruz pulling ahead at this point with 42% of the policy. the night is still early. five states up to grab. settle ahead, cubans stuck in central america for weeks will soon get to continue their journey into the u.s. many are expected to travel to

miami, but that city isn't expected to welcome them with open arms. later tonight, five years after the fukoshima disaster, we speak to the make yours of a documentary that speaks to the legacy of this disaster. in the next hour, a deeper look at political polling, how the public's depending on the race has gathered and how polling has changed since the 1930s. that's 8p.m. eastern.

had american schools are stepping up efforts to protect muslim students from being bullied. the departments are expanding existing measures that protect gay students and racial minorities to include muslims. civil rights organizations have been working with schools to address recent anti muslim backlash. some students have been reported being called terrorist in recent months. by land and by sea, thousands of cuban migrants are coming to america and that journey is often dangerous and uncertain. a report from miami on what happens after they arrive. >> reporter: at the church world service in miami newly arrive cuban families are given all the help they need to resettle in the u.s., for the per, ez family it has been a long and dangerous journey. they made their way through south and central america and faced a series of setbacks.

he tells us he was robbed several times by corrupt officials. the story not uncommon among those seeking a better life. it is the fate of thousands of other cubans who have started making their way out of central america that is concerning city officials in miami. the city's mayor says resources are already stretched. they may not be able to cope with an influx of new arrivals. for me it is a pain to see people living on a parking lot or in front of a store and we cannot just help them. >> reporter: over the past few months the number of cubans arriving by sea has been rising dramatically. organizations who deal with newly arrived cubans here say those fears are nothing short of unwarranted panic. they're keen to point out that in years past miami has dealt

with far greater numbers. cubans are now settling in states like texas, kentucky and michigan. most new arrivals will settle quickly >> there has been an over reaction for the 8,000 cubans this time around because of maybe the idea we will all be homeless. putting it into perspective that they're going to be here with families. >> reporter: this family are part of the biggest influx of migrants here for more than two decades, but they still have one last journey ahead. they will soon leave south florida to make new lives in michigan customers will be loufrd to incrept data on fire tablets. the company removed that feature which protects use dwrers' information by allowing access only with a password. the decision to remove encryption has been criticiseed as apple fights the f.b.i.

overseas to cell phone data. it will be available this spring when the latest software is released a florida man who landed his gyro cop terror was seconds away from colliding with a flight. he has been accused of endangering than countless lives last year. he admits he violated restricted airspace to send a political message about stricter campaign finance rules. his sentencing is set for april 13. up next on al jazeera america, back to the results of kaushges and primaries, our chief political caravanned will join us to breakdown each state. plus how gangs in greece are destroying refugees.

message about stricter campaign er campaign is that the race for the white house continues today on what some are calling super saturday. candidates are trying to persuade people that they're the right choice for the next pt. five states held caulkes today. caucuses today. at stake 109 democratic delegates and 155 republican delegates. tomorrow democrats vote in

maine. lots of big news tonight for ted cruz who is expected to win kansas and collect 17 delegates there. also the state of maine. it is early there. we don't have an indication of where that will go. ted cruz is ahead by 42% of the vote. it could be a big night for him. in kentucky donald trump collecting 42% of the vote. also early as well there, but 46 delegates are up for grabs there. we are still waiting to hear on the republican side how louisiana leads. the polls are still open for a couple of hours yet. ted cruz thanks his voters. the message was all about donald trump though. >> our campaign is the only

campaign that has beaten donald trump over and over and over again, and that can and will beat him over and over again. our campaign has now beaten him not once or three times, but seven times we have beaten him all over this country al jazeera's chief correspondent michael shaw joins us live from l.a. let's talk about this open voting. earlier on in iowa you could walk up, register and vote. that's no longer the case. could this work in someone's favor or against them? >> yes. it would work against donald trump. a lot of his supporters are people that are new to politics. johnny-cum-latelys. people who voted in general elections in the past but haven't per taken in this

process. they can walk up and do it. today all of them have at least a measure of closing the ballot to only people in that party. it hurts donald trump because the person who was an impulse buyer, shall you say, is sort of a dissuaded from taking part in this process. that is part of what probably has helped ted cruz. you have seen donald trump do poor any in those states compared to where he has gone on to big victories. the states that have that have been a little bit of trouble for donald trump and that is showing today on what some are call, what you heard cruz say is super saturday could this also be the indication of something more that perhaps the support from donald trump is weakening and that maybe a lot of republicans are deciding against minimum and favoring ted cruz instead? >> you know, any time you've thought that, not you, but somebody who follows this, has thought that this year, it's wrong. so this is hard to say it is the beginning of the ends for donald trump, but when you see numbers

like this and see someone like ted cruz having a good day, you can see it makes sense. if you see donald trump do something and then his numbers go up and stay the same, but when you have mored results from ted cruz who markets himself as the only really viable alternative to donald trump, whether others belief that or not, that's he thinks, then up think he is on to something, but it is still probably too early to say that what do we learn from looking at those numbers today? >> the numbers seem to be huge. again, this is not just anecdotal. these are reports coming from all four states, particularly kansas, maine and kentucky. kentucky had issues of getting people in, in time to vote. that is was a big problem. closing down the ballots because there was so many there, not having enough printed. when you talk about the turn out, they're looking at it very

suss the 2012 psych em. that seems high. one thing that is interesting on the democratic side, in states where they put in voter id laws, the turn out is down by almost 300% among democrats. whatever the purpose of those voter id laws may have been, they're working to express democratic votes. while on the other side the republicans have seen their numbers search a lot of attention was on marco rubio. a lot hoped he would perform better than he did. he spent a lot of time in kansas and did not perform there as well as he hoped. moving forward here, what is available to him? what is thinks path forward? >> he is going to cherry pick now. he has to look to places where he had a better chance. he thought that he could pick off votes in kansas. nobody thought ted cruz was going to win that. he thought he could play the ted cruz role there. you heard cruz speaking to us from idaho. marco rubio will go there, and

also down to puerto rico. it is sort of killing two birds with one stone. he is speaking to the country that has more delegates, for example, than the state of vermont does. but through central florida there are a lot of people from puerto rico have moved there. two issues are vital to him. one is a win. it is also to make sure he can hold his own state of florida on march 15. that is the big worry spot for him. it is game over if he stunt win florida -- if he doesn't win florida thank you for that. we're hoping to get early numbers from kansas on the democratic side later tonight. earlier we told you about the growing humanitarian crisis along the greece-macedonian border. macedonia is only allow allowing a few refugees to cross.

that has left 10,000 on the border. bad conditions are making matters worse there, especially for the children. meanwhile, some migrants trying to avoid the long and dangerous journey are turning to gangs in athens who are selling forged european union passports. our correspondent went undercover to expose the trade. >> reporter: victoria square, athens, a place popular with refugees and migrants stuck in greece. every day they come here to get information about the border and alternative routes to get out of greece. for some these desperate people are a business opportunity. the cafés around the square are teaming with human smugglers. >> really you can see just five minutes, after five minutes, i'm sure about this, somebody said,

if you want to go to any country, i can help you, and i'm sure this is illegal. >> reporter: with the border effectively closed for most of the refugees, they say they now have only two options, to either pay smugglers or get stuck in greece. this is booming business time for criminal gangs. they will keep collecting their money as long as war gives an endless supply of these people. >> reporter: i contacted a smuggler from south sudan. he took two passport photos from me. he turned up with a british passport later which will said would cost us 350 e urngs ros. before-- euros. before my photo was laminated into it he wanted his money. it is at that point we decided to stall the process.

>> reporter: the smuggler kept calling us the next day but we didn't respond. the smuggling business in athens is a vast industry with different layers. greek police acknowledge they face an uphill struggling against the smugglers. those who can't afford to buy fake european documents are forced to walk unofficial crossings into macedonia and beyond. thousands are on the move every day. it's the hope of being closer to a new life that many of the refugees say keeps them moving.

their past as been destroyed and now for their future they continue to seek still ahead tonight on al jazeera america the lessons learned nearly five years after the health down the fukashima plant. >> reporter: we have a lot of rain flooding as well as snow, and over towards the east coast a lot of people are going to be happy with the temperature f forecast coming up.

as america votes 2016, super saturday a big night for ted cruz who won the states of ken sas picking up 17 delegates there. donald trump there coming in second with only 23% of the votes. this should add some energy to ted cruz's campaign that has so far been trailing behind donald trump. maine also looking favorable to ted cruz, still early though. tonight a lot could change. at this point he is collecting 42% of the vote. also the state of kentucky where donald trump is performing well so far, 39% of the vote, although again still early there. we're expecting to get results later tonight. five states up for grabs between republicans and democrats. dozens of delegates at stakes. we will bring you more as soon as we get it here.

other news to get to, good news for sailors who have a little extra weight in their sails. many who failed the physical fitness test because they exceed body fat limits will get one more shot at it this spring. they're thinking they're losing too many tam end sailors-- top end sailors. a new poll finds more than half americans think the crisis in flint michigan is a sign of bigger problems to cross the country. an ap poll found 47% feel extremely or very confident that their drinking water is safe. 33% say they are moderately confident. 18% say they have no confidence at all in their drinking water.

the poll shows people tend to trust the water even less. five years since one of the biggest earth quakes struck off the north. what followed, a 30 foot t sush sushgs-- tsunam i which hit the fukushima plant. >> reporter: five years after the fukushima disaster, family members continue searching for missing loved ones. >> translation: even if i find her, there is always a chance, of course, that she may have been found elsewhere. as long as my body can take it, i will continue searching. >> reporter: nearly 4,000 people were reported missing after the disaster. most unable to escape the giant waves that washed ashore. others likely overcome by radiation from the fukushima power plant.

just this week japan indicted three former executives of the former electric power company. they were charged with negligence for not doing enough to protect the plant. an admission from the company decommissioning company, fuel rods missing >> translation: we don't really know what the situation is for niece nor where it has gone. >> reporter: 1630,000 people-- 160,000 people were forced to flee the zone when the tsunam i head. 16,000 were confirmed dead. the damage put at 210 billion dollars. tokyo have pledged 232 billion dollars to rebuild over the next five years. within the past five months parts of the disaster zone opened up, but few people have returned. most of them are older. as the majority of younger people have moved on and started new lives in other cities. the first town to fully open was

meant to be a model of reconstruction efforts. only 4000 of the 8,000 residents returned. nearly half of them over 60. >> translation: it became an environment where people could not live safely and comfortably ever again. >> reporter: those who have yet to return are not so certain the region is safe. radio active material is still being collected despite the country's best efforts to clean up tomorrow night al jazeera presents fukushima, a nuclear story. it is a documentary shot in the years after that disaster. it follows sky news reporter as he travels into the affected region. >> reporter: how can you live in the fear that your child might get cancer, leukaemia, for example, because you bought an affected milk carton. japanese people left alone

organise themselves alone. no associations, solidarity group, self-managed initiatives are born. food analysis is carried out autonomously. domestic market are organized at the weekend. moms from that area come together to buy crops from distinct places, from provinces considered to be safe. also become online commerce is growing and with it scams. in a country where citizens were used to leaving their goods unattended on the streets, where shoppers left money in exchange for produce, people have lost their trust joining me now via skype is the director of the documentary fukushima, nuclear story. in rome we have an investigative journalist with sky news and author of nuclear tsunam i.

thank you for being with us today. i want to start with you since you spent so much time in japan. when you go back and you see that area, you see fukushima, what are you most struck by? >> well, mostly i'm struck by the fact that after five years from the tribal catastrophe, the tsunam i, the earthquake and the disaster, things are like i left them five years ago. it seems japan, despite all the technological/economical power, has just forgotten about fukushima, about the people, about the devastating effects of this tragedy, nuclear tragedy, that contrary to what the japanese, the pent japanese government says-- president japanese government say is still on why do you think the

recovery and clean up is moving so slow? >> basically because this nuclear incident/accident has been much different from any other nuclear accident that has happened so far in the world. more than three mile islands, more than chernobyl. we have six reactors, four of them were working at the time, and three of them are still melting down. the tragedy is going on. what strikes more is not what happened in fukushima and what is happening right now, but what can still happen even five years after this disaster, there's still a lot of work ahead. i want to bring you in here since you paired up for the documentary. what drew you to this subject and this film? >> i did a minor project before this one and then i decided to

make another project on the same subject, which was more complete, more respectful of japanese culture, and more true about the facts involved with the nuclear tragedy and the nuclear crisis when you set out to tell this story, were you trying to figure out what happened at fukushima? was that the main point of this film? >> well, the main point of this film is not what happened in fukushima. it is what could happen, what could it have been instead of - fortunately it was not it could have been a lot worse despite the scale of the devastation we saw five years ago. >> yes so what do you think is the biggest lesson learned here since there were so many things that went wrong here. you had the earthquake, upped the power outage, you had the tsunami, the nuclear disaster. what is the biggest lesson learned do you think?

>> well, if you want me to be totally frank, it is that yet another, if we ever needed another confirmation, that a nuclear energy, even for peaceful purposes, is wrong. what our movie says about sortaguy, it means unpredictable, beyond recognition, what that says is beyond that, that was caused by that event, tsunami of 30 metres is something unpredickable, but not the earthquake. the first big lie of japan and of the company at the time was that the accident was brought on by the tsunami. that was faums. the accident was ignited by a

blackout caused by the earthquake-- false. japan is the country of earthquakes, as everybody knows obviously, the tsunami had a big roam there >> of course it was a domino affect there. when you look at the lessons learned here from this disaster, do you feel like this the japanese government has really got a handle over what exactly went wrong and how to prevent something like this from happening again? >> for sure. you know very well, very, very well, they know better than anyone else what happened in fukushima. so that's not the point. the point is that there are other reasons behind these policies. the economic reasons, there are a number of reasons, there are too many aspects involved in nuclear energy. this is not only in japan, but it is worldwide problem i get what you're saying about the concerns about nuclear energy overall.

we saw what happened in germany after the tsunami, their response to this. when you look at all that happened and all the things that went wrong, do you feel like at this point that the japanese government has learned from what happened? >> well, i'm afraid not. the very fact that the government is promising, i would say, threatening all the nuclear facilities, is a kind of irresponsible behaviour. the japanese people, telling the whole world. fukushima is not - would not be remembered for what happened, but again, as i said at the beginning, for what still can happen what is clear is that five years after the horrific earthquake, there's still a lot of suffering there and still a long road ahead. i thank you, my guests, for joining us today. we appreciate it.

>> thank you to al jazeera and your staff. >> thank you so much you can see the documentary, fukushima, a nuclear story, which is tomorrow night at 10 pm eastern. changing gears, let's gt the weather because out west they're seeing a lot of rain. >> reporter: they are seeing a lot of rain and they have. before we get to what's happening today. take a look behind me. we have a rare event. this is called the super bloom in death valley. this has been going on - they had the rain starting in october. because they got so much rain, the seeds in the valley have germinated, but it doesn't happen for 10 years. it happens every 10 years. it will lost for a week or so. we're seeing a lot of rain coming across much of the west, coming in from the pacific. so much rain that we are looking at flooding, quite a bit of snow across the region as well.

floopd warnings are up towards the noth. up here down to the north of l.a. where we have the watchers and warnings. that will affect so much snow that the areas of pink, we're talking about three feet of snow is expected by the time this is all said and done. we think that's going to be by the time we get to sunday night/monday morning. the temperatures, the east isn't looking too bad. pretty much normal. look at the forecast as we go from sunday, monday as well as into tuesday. those temperatures are really ramping up. we're going to see temperatures that are well above average. people are going to actually love it that's a big change. our friend ran dal is here the polls have closed in all but one of the super saturday

states. victories for ted cruz send a signal to the republican establishment. donald trump's apparent coronation put on hold. political polls have become the lifeline of the candidate's campaign. tonight we will take a look at the process. you will also meet the only symphony orchestra in the republic of congo looking forward to it. thanks so much. that is it for us at this hour. the news continues next with our good friend randall pinkston. see you then.

rica. this is al jazeera america. a look at today's stop stories. victories for ted cruz today sends a powerful message to the win establishment. donald trump apparently is not invinsible. >> many polls came out that i easily beat hm where do the numbers come from and who are the pole sisters talking to